Oregon basketball: Sore-hipped Michael Dunigan endures

Michael Dunigan was supposed to be Oregon’s interior savior, a true big man for the Ducks. He still very well may be that, but he’s not looking too healthy right now, and there is some long-term cause for concern, too.

Dunigan sat out games last week against Stanford and Cal and didn’t practice at all. This week, he was back on the floor but still unable to do much. In Thursday night’s win at USC, Dunigan had two points and two rebounds in 12 minutes.

Hip pain comes and goes for Michael Dunigan.So Oregon coach Ernie Kent went to the “Golden State small ball’’ approach, leaving the sore-hipped Dunigan on the bench for most of the game but sending him in occasionally, telling the 6-10 sophomore to get him some rebounds and blocked shots.

He did get a key block and two well-timed rebounds – all during the Trojans’ game-ending scoreless stretch of 6:19 – but he did miss two free throws in that time, too. Those misses, with Oregon up 47-44 could have swayed momentum if USC could have actually put the ball in the basket, but they didn’t, and Tajuan Porter’s three with 54 seconds left ensured no momentum swing.

“Well, if (Kent) told me to make the free throws, it probably would have been different,’’ Dunigan joked.

The hips are no laughing matter, though. He gets ultrasound treatment, plenty of anti-inflammatories, but he can’t shake the soreness, which also plagued him last season. Kent blamed the problem on Dunigan's 42-inch inseams, saying it's just the way he's built, but we haven't heard any medical explanation.

“It just comes and goes,’’ Dunigan said. “It gets sore, then it gets to the point where I can’t stand it, and I have to sit out. It’s still sore right now, pretty tight right now.’’

It’s hard to tell how much Dunigan will play the rest of the way. After averaging 21 points and 13 rebounds in the Ducks’ opening Pac-10 wins at Washington State and Washington, Dunigan has averaged 6.5 points and 4.2 rebounds in his 11 games since.

What does the rest of the season hold for him and the Ducks?

“Just the love of the game right now,’’ Dunigan said. “Just to prove to people we can still play basketball.’’